Buffalo Bisons baseball – Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays

July 2011

Pat Misch helped his own cause with a two-run double, breaking a scoreless tie in the fifth inning of the Herd’s 7-1 win for a two-game sweep at Lehigh Valley Sunday night.

Buffalo tacked three more runs against starter Ryan Feierabend in the fifth on a Fernando Perez single and sacrifice flies by Luis Figueroa and Valentino Pascucci.

Misch allowed three hits over seven innings in his team-best ninth quality start and sixth win, striking out five with two walks.

Former Met Aaron Heilman relieved Feierabend to start the sixth. Heilman loaded the bases on Ruben Tejada and Dusty Ryan singles and a Perez walk before a two-run Figueroa single.

Josh Satin took his hit streak to eight games in the fifth with his second Triple-A double.

A day after returning from the disabled list, Fernando Martinez hit 2-for-4 and scored a run. Ryan went 3-for-4 and scored twice.

Pete Orr broke the shutout with a solo home run against reliever Brian Sweeney in the eighth.

Sweeney pitched a shutout ninth with one strikeout.

Game Notes:Misch also hit an RBI double in his second start of the year, April 23 at home against the IronPigs… Pascucci’s 74RBIs lead the International League… Misch tied Chris Schwinden for the most Herd wins in 2011 and has 18 in his Buffalo career.

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the finale of a two-game series from Coca-Cola Park (5:35 p.m.). The Herd will look for the two-game sweep of the I-Pigs after its 2-1 victory on Saturday night. Tomorrow, Buffalo’s season-long, four-stop roadtrip continues at Frontier Field in Rochester.

VS. THE I-PIGS: The Bisons are 6-7 against the IronPigs this season. The teams split both four-game sets in Buffalo, but Lehigh Valley won three of four over the Herd at Coca-Cola Park, April 30 – May 3. Last season, the Bisons were 5-3 in their eight total games in Lehigh Valley.

DISCH ON MISCH: LHP PAT MISCH makes his 16th start of the season tonight. The southpaw lost his last time out, allowing seven runs in 4.2 innings to the Yankees on Tuesday. Misch has faced the IronPigs three times already this season and defeated Lehigh Valley on June 29 at Coca-Cola Field. Overall, Misch is 1-0 with a 5.19ERA in 17.1 innings against the IronPigs.

LUIS, LUIS: INF LUIS FIGUEROA has six hits in his last nine at-bats and brings a six-game hit streak into tonight’s game. Since July 25, Figueroa has averaged .407 (11-27) with three RBI and five runs scored. On the season, his .313 average now ranks as the fifth highest mark in the International League.

Mr. VP: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI leads the International League with 73RBI on the season and ranks in top 5 in slugging percentage (2nd, .508) and on-base percentage (4th, .386). The slugger enters tonight’s game on an 11-game hit streak over which he has averaged .357 (15-42).

BISONS BITS: INF JOSH SATIN has hit in seven straight games. The Triple-A rookie has averaged .407 (11-27) during his hit streak…With his recent time in New York, INF NICK EVANS is 37 plate appearances from having his .322 average qualify as the 2nd highest mark in the International League…RHP DALE THAYER is up to 13 saves for the season. That total is tied for the fifth most in the league…The Bisons have won two straight without the benefit of an extra-base hit. The team’s last extra-base hit was a INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI home run in the seventh inning on Thursday night (81 AB ago).

METS UPDATE: The Mets (55-52) win streak came to an end with a 3-0 defeat in Washington last night. Former Bisons RHP R.A. DICKEY allowed just three runs in six innings but saw his record drop to 5-9. New York had just eight singles in the loss. The Mets take on the Nationals again this afternoon at 1:35 p.m.

In his fourth start and sixth appearance with Buffalo, Batista allowed eight hits but just one run with eight strikeouts to six walks.

Manager Tim Teufel lifted reliever John Lujan with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth for closer Dale Thayer, who escaped on a hard grounder snagged by third baseman Josh Satin.

Thayer allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Moss, but turned a double play against Domonic Brown before a Delwyn Young single. Jesus Feliciano caught a fly out from Erik Kratz for the final out.

Buffalo mounted an early lead against IronPigs starter Nate Bump on Satin’s first-inning single, which brought home Luis Figueroa, who posted his second consecutive three-hit game.

The Herd packed the bases with Bisons, but Bump escaped the first on double play off a hard-hit Nick Evans lineout.

International League RBI leader Valentino Pascucci drove in his 73rd in the third inning on a single, scoring Figueroa for a 2-0 lead.

In six innings of work, Bump allowed two earned runs on seven hits, striking out six without a walk.

Pete Orr drove in Lehigh Valley’s only run, scoring Rich Thompson from second on a third-inning single.

Game Notes: Fernando Martinez returned from the disabled list before the game, starting… Raul Chavez threw out his 25th runner of the season, Peter Orr. He’s thrown out 48 percent of runners this season… Satin extended a hitting streak to seven games, an active team best.

TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Bisons take on the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the first game of a two-game series from Coca-Cola Park (6:35 p.m.). Tonight’s contest starts a season-long 10-game roadtrip that also stops in Rochester, Pawtucket and Syracuse. The Herd is coming off a 2-6 homestand with series losses to the Red Sox and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

VS. THE I-PIGS: The Bisons are 5-7 in 12 games against the IronPigs this season. The teams split both four-game sets in Buffalo, but Lehigh Valley won three of four over the Herd at Coca-Cola Park, April 30 – May 3. Last season, the Bisons were 5-3 in their eight total games in Lehigh Valley.

ON THE HILL: RHP MIGUEL BATISTA will make his fourth start and sixth appearance for the Bisons tonight. The veteran is coming off his best start of the season as he struck out nine in six innings on July 25 against Pawtucket. Batista did not earn a decision after allowing just two runs on three hits. Right-handed batters have just a .161 (5-31) average against Batista.

ROSTER MOVE: OF FERNANDO MARTINEZ has been activated off the disabled list after missing 14 games with a left hip flexor strain. Martinez has played 51 games for the Bisons this season and has averaged .254 (45-177) with seven home runs and 25RBI. OF JASON BOTTS has also been placed on the disabled list.

SMOOTH AS SATIN: INF JOSH SATIN has hit in six straight games and seven of eight in his first stint at Triple-A. The 26-year old has also scored a run in six straight games and is hitting .355 (11-31) with a home run and five RBI overall. Combined with his 94 games at Double-A this season, Satin is now hitting .328 (121-369) with 50 extra-base hits.

Mr. VP: INF VALENTINO PASCUCCI leads the International League with 72RBI on the season and ranks in top 5 in slugging percentage (2nd, .508) and on-base percentage (4th, .385). The slugger enters tonight’s game on a 10-game hit streak over which he has averaged .342 (13-38). Since the All-Star break, Pascucci has hit in 14 of 16 games with six doubles, six home runs and 22 runs driven in.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (55-51) collected their major-league best 33rd road win yesterday thanks to an 8-5 win in Washington. Former Bisons RHP DILLON GEE earned his 10th win of the season by allowing just two earned runs in 6.2 innings of work. The Mets send R.A. Dickey to the mound against the Nationals tonight at 7:05 p.m.

Trailing 4-0 after three innings, the Herd broke through with five runs in the fourth and three in the fifth for an 8-5 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to close out the homestand Friday night at Coca-Cola Field.

“It’s always nicer to go on a road trip with something positive,” third baseman Josh Satin said. “So hopefully we build on that momentum and head into Lehigh (Valley) strong.”

Despite nine walks issued by Yankees starter Brackman, the Bisons couldn’t break through for a run or hit in his 3 1/3 innings.

“He kept putting himself in trouble when there were all these guys on base,” Satin said. “There’s a lot of balls hit well with guys on base and none of them really fell for us.”

However reliever Eric Wordekemper allowed all three of his inherited runners to score as part of a five-run fourth inning in which the Herd batted around.

Luis Figueroa, who went 3-for-5 and Satin delivered RBI hits, Nick Evans walked one in and Mike Baxter drove in two on a single.

Starter Dylan Owen earned his fifth win, allowing five earned runs on eight hits over 7 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and no walks.

After raising his average to .355 in 31 at-bats, Satin said he’s adjusting to playing at the Triple-A level with every game.

“The way they pitch you is a little different from what I’ve been used to,” Satin said. “I’ve kind of started to figure out what they want to throw in different counts and different situations.”

The Bisons padded the lead with three more in the fifth with Satin and Valentino Pascucci driving in a pair on singles and Baxter taking a pitch to the side with the bases loaded.

Four Yankee singles gave Scranton a two-run lead after the first inning, including RBI hits by Mike Lamb and Brandon Laird.

Consecutive eighth-inning doubles by Laird and Jordan Parraz, the latter against John Lujan, cut Buffalo’s lead to three.

Dale Thayer finished ninth in order, including a double play, for his 12th save.

Game Notes: Fernando Perez reached base five times, walking his first four trips to the plate before a single… The record for walks by an opponent remains Joe Gannon’s 12 in Ottawa on April 23, 2004… Pascucci’s infield single gave him his International League-leading 72rd RBI. Vazquez trails him with 70.

Links

Categories

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.